


One by One

by miabria



Category: Final Fantasy IV
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:28:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miabria/pseuds/miabria
Summary: Rosa recounts the losses the party has endured thus far. How many lives must be taken from them before their quest may succeed?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	One by One

Needless sacrifice after needless sacrifice.

Why is it that men, when placed upon the battlefields of war, give their lives over and over again for little reward besides death? Is it a selfless need to protect the ones they care about, or is it a deeper, more selfish desire to be remembered in stories as a hero laying their life on the line to protect their kingdom and their world?

Whatever the reason, I cannot bear to watch another brave soul die. I cannot withstand the torment and pain placed upon myself and the others as our comrades fall, one by one, by the plots of Golbez.

First, ‘twas the old sage Tellah. An exceptional man, by the stories Cecil has told to me. He was a caring father seeking revenge for the first real bloodshed our own circle had to endure. Anna, the beautiful young girl Prince Edward loved so passionately, so truly. Never have I witnessed a bond as pure as theirs, even only knowing the man and his harp. But the words he sang and the emotions he conveyed moved me to tears more often than not; it was a sadness no person could emulate lest their entire world be taken from them. It was this sadness, also, that was the fuel to Tellah’s rage.

I did not know the old man, though his sacrifice was the first I witnessed. Before him, two young mages from Mysidia who gave their lives in Baron, turned their very beings to stone to prevent the collapsing of the walls around them. It is this sacrifice, most of all, that weighs on my dear Cecil’s shoulders. I can see in his eyes the determination to carry forward, ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain.

But Tellah’s death, his own revenge that very well should have been the end-all of this war, was very much in vain. Meteor, that deadly spell, collected its toll: his very life force. It was the remaining husk of a man, withered away by the draining magic that I saw as we exited the Tower of Zot. Kain had placed himself between me and the old man, a shield for my eyes from the sight of such tragedy. His attempts had not been enough to prevent the weight of loss that suddenly fell upon my shoulders. This man whom I knew not was the first of many to shoulder the burden of sacrifice. His would be the first failed attempt at putting an end to this ever-growing war, but I knew then that it would not be the last. 

And indeed, I had been correct. Yang was next to offer his sacrifice; the canons within the Tower of Babil threatening to blow the entire structure to bits and fragments, ourselves included. The brave monk of Fabul stayed their fire, pushing us from the room despite our endless pleas and locking the door to forbid our entrance. It was Cecil, then, who seemed most distraught, though the cries of protest arose from us all. It was our paladin’s scream that was the loudest, his actions the most desperate as his fist collided with the barrier before him, over and over and over. My own hand placed itself upon his, a simple act of comfort to keep his noble blood from spilling around his knuckles. They were bruised already from the repeated actions, though once kept from further damage, fell to his sides as his head slumped in grief. We were all silent for a moment, the deafening canons inaudible now as well. At least, though it saddens me to say, Yang’s attempt had succeeded, though it never should have been necessary in the first place. We waited for eternity, time standing still as our breaths were held, all expecting those doors to open and our comrade to return victorious. 

He never did.

This time it was Rydia who remained our voice of reason, as our patience depleted and our sorrowful hearts began to overwhelm. She was our constant motivation to keep pushing forward no matter the pain we felt. There would be time to grieve later, but it was important in that moment that we stay focused. The past cannot be changed, but the future can still yet be determined.

It was impossible for any soul to match the strength and determination that young summoner possessed. Perhaps the strongest of us all, her resolve to keep fighting until our goal had been fulfilled was a trait most admirable, and one I often envied. How could she maintain so much confidence that we will succeed when she had been the receiver of perhaps the greatest loss of all? Her mother and her entire village—her home and her culture and all she had ever known… swept away in a torrent of fire and Baronian righteousness…

Still, we continued forward, back on our path until we could once again return to the world above the dwarven realm. Of course, our efforts were faltered by the rage of Golbez, his attempts to prevent our progress ever growing. Yet we could not be ceased. Our dear friend Cid, with his airship in tow, saved us from certain doom just when we had believed it to be impossible. It was only when he had handed the controls off to Cecil that I knew a plan was turning over in his brilliant mind. In order to give our party a head start and temporary safety away from Golbez’s pursuits, Cid had the idea to seal off the portal from our surface world to below. 

“The bomb must be deployed at just the right time,” I remember his jovial voice explaining, his words as confident as ever they had been. He did not seem concerned in the slightest of what his words implied, though I could feel tears in my eyes begin to sting and scorch my vision. I would not let them fall. Not yet.

Without a word, I moved forward to place my hand upon his arm in a plea for him to reconsider. “We can find another way.” Yet I had no ideas.

He, too, was taken from us before our very eyes, the cavern walls of the entrance crumbling above him as he plummeted downward, the explosion sending our ship quickly above to the surface. It was then I let the first tears of sorrow flow, my face buried in Cecil’s shoulder as he piloted us toward Baron. No one spoke a single word the entire journey there. We all were beginning to feel the weight of loss pile upon us.

No, it was not foolishness or selfishness that drove men to sacrifice their lives in war. It was rage, vengeance, hope, and valiance. It was the prayer that, though one may fall, the greater number may continue forward and succeed in their goal. It was passion and duty and love that initiated each and every sacrifice thus far. I prayed I would witness no more friends throw their lives away for our endeavor. What I had not accounted for was the tragedy awaiting us upon our arrival in Eblan. Yet more devastation to add to our growing collection of morbid anguish.


End file.
